The FNS™ 40 Long Slide is the pistol at the center of the controversy.

The Baltimore County, MD Police Department has reported accidental discharges with their duty-issued FNS-40 Long Slide pistols. The reports are concerning, and appear to involve a mechanical issue of some kind, allowing the pistols to discharge when inadvertently bumped, or when being holstered or unholstered. Perhaps even more dangerous, the report advised the pistols may not fire at all when the trigger is pulled. The problem was identified and documented with at least (9) pistols, and included at least one incident where an officer was injured from the discharge.

Fabrique Nationale (FN) is one of the world’s most successful and respected firearms manufacturers. FN has produced dozens of firearms for militaries, law enforcement agencies, and civilian shooters for over 100 years. These firearms have been used in everything from combat to simple recreational target shooting. A firearms company does not become as successful as FN without producing superior products.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is merely an informational news publication. Nothing within this article should be construed as being a definitive statement on the reliability of FN firearms, or the FNS-40 Long Slide pistols in particular. BlueSheepdog has not conducted any independent testing of the FNS-40 Long Slide to confirm or deny the reports of malfunctions. As such, readers are encouraged to simply consider the reports in this article as informational only, and make their own judgments.

SIG Sauer announced the addition of the P320 XCompact to the P320 X-Series pistol line at SHOT Show 2019. The P320 XCompact will bring the features of the P320 X-series pistols to a more concealable handgun. The new P320 XCompact offers shooters several features appealing to the concealed carry group, including a redesigned grip for comfort and better control. These features offer benefits for detectives and administrative officers, or officers preferring a smaller framed duty handgun.

SHOT Show 2019 delivered quite a few new firearm and product announcements, and the new SIG Sauer P320 XCompact is a great addition to an already popular line of handguns. We’ll jump into the features that make this new handgun worth a look.

The new SIG Sauer P320-M17 in Coyote Tan is the civilian version of the Army’s MHS M17 selection.

SIG Sauer won the U.S. Army Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition last year, with a modified P320. There was an enormous amount of activity at the SIG Sauer booth during the 2017 SHOT Show, and then the announcement was made of their selection. Interestingly, other than announcing their win with a modified P320, SIG Sauer officials were still fairly hush-hush at the time concerning details. Civilian interest in the M17 was immediate, and now SIG Sauer has responded to the demand. The U.S. Army version has been designated the M17. SIG Sauer is now offering the M17 to the civilian market, a move that will likely garner the company a significant amount of additional revenue. History has shown the U.S. Army’s selected handgun gains wide support from American shooters.

The venerable Model 1911 is still popular today, and in fact is experiencing a renewed rise in popularity and technological advancements. The Beretta M9 (Model 92) became wildly popular after the U.S. Army selection (and perhaps the movie Lethal Weapon as well). Now, the SIG Sauer M17 (P320) will likely experience that same surge in popularity, and delivering almost the exact U.S. Army firearm to the civilian market is a wise move by SIG Sauer.

The new Remington Model 1911 R1 Limited Series Double Stack.Remington Arms has just announced the release of their new Model 1911 R1 Limited Series Double-Stack pistol. Quite a mouthful, huh! Well, the new Model 1911 R1 offers a mouthful of features, including a double-stack magazine to expand ammunition capacity for America’s iconic handgun. In addition, the new Remington 1911 R1 pistol will also shooters three of America’s favorite pistol calibers: 9mm, .40 S&W, and the original .45 ACP.

The original Model 1911 handgun, designed by John M. Browning, was designed with a capacity of (7+1) rounds using a single-stack detachable magazine. At the time, when revolvers were still the most prevalent handgun offering only a 5 or 6 round capacity, the additional (2) rounds from the 1911 was a significant step forward. Many originalists feel the only good 1911 is one following Browning’s original design, but more and more new 1911 enthusiasts are excited to see the Model 1911 expand into greater carrying capacity.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently released an important report indicating the civilian use of firearms in self-defense is much more prevalent than some would have us believe, and far more successful then previously reported. This is actually great news for law enforcement, and lawfully armed citizens. Law enforcement officers understand all too well we are rarely at the scene of a violent crime when the critical moments are at hand.

The civilian carry of firearms is guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but has been a widely divided topic among law enforcement agencies across the nation. Larger cities, and the far east and west coast have tended to support stricter firearms restrictions, while much of the southeast, midwest, mountain west and rural areas have been much more supportive of civilian firearm ownership and carry. Though the arguments for and against civilian carry of firearms are definitely not over, this new FBI report spreads a much clearer image of the ways civilians are using firearms in defense and how successful they are.

Editor’s Note: BlueSheepdog is made up of current and former law enforcement officers from various backgrounds and experience. This author has over 21 years in law enforcement, including Patrol, Traffic, Drug Task Force, Supervisor, and SWAT. For disclosure, the author is a Lifetime Member of the National Rifle Association (NRA). In general, the BlueSheepdog staff are supportive a lawful citizens possessing and carrying firearms.

U.S. Army rifle qualification may be seeing some significant changes soon (photo by DoD).

The United States Army is changing the scoring of their rifle qualification course, in an apparent attempt to more clearly define who should obtain achievement pins. The adjustments have kept the overall passing score at its meager 23 hits out of 40, but alters the scoring requirements to achieve more coveted marksman and sharpshooter awards. Expert standards will remain the same, and require at least 36 hits out of 40 shots.

Though the military and American law enforcement are distinct in function and purpose, the two often share similar combat of arms, and even self-defense training. Many law enforcement agencies (especially State Police forces) established their Chain of Command, ranks, uniforms, disciplinary measures, and more, based upon established military doctrines. The influence of the military upon law enforcement firearms, equipment, and structure cannot be underestimated. As such, this rather shocking lowering of rifle qualification standards may see a much broader impact as law enforcement agencies around the country evaluate their training programs and requirements.

The new Remington Model 700 PCR will likely become the standard for 700-series rifles.

Remington Arms has recently released their Model 700 PCR (Precision Chassis Rifle). The newest member of the venerable Model 700 family packs plenty of purpose-driven features, including a 3-shot sub-MOA guarantee, marking the Model 700 PCR as a great competitor in a growing and highly competitive precision rifle market.

The Remington Model 700 is one of the most popular and iconic bolt-action rifles in America, and has been a primary choice of law enforcement and military snipers for decades. The new Model 700 PCR incorporates the latest materials and modular stock technology to create a rifle worthy of consideration to become the new Model 700 standard.

Ruger continues to deliver with the release of their new PC Carbine™ chambered in 9x19mm. The new PC carbine from Ruger combines the influence of the highly successful Ruger 10-22 Takedown with the most popular handgun cartridge on the market, the 9mm. The takedown feature of the PC Carbine makes this new firearm incredibly versatile for a wide-range of shooters. The Ruger PC Carbine is also equipped with interchangeable magazine wells allowing shooters a wide variety of pistol magazine options for everyday carry handgun compatibility.

We have noted several times in recent articles the incredible ingenuity and production performance of Ruger in the last few years. Unlike most of the competition, that has simply been upgrading existing firearm lines, Ruger has jumped completely outside of the box and produced several new firearms. The new Ruger firearms have married technological savvy, with the hottest market demand, to create outstanding final products at very low prices. The Phoenix has indeed reincarnated stronger and bolder than ever.

The new Ruger Security-9 hammer-fired pistol appears to have everything necessary to be a hit.

Ruger has just released their newest handgun, the Security-9 polymer-framed, hammer-fired pistol. Ruger has built the Security-9 around the highly successful and reliable LCP® hammer-fired action. The Ruger Security-9 is purpose-built to be a mid-size every-day carry handgun, providing full capacity 15-round magazines of 9x19mm ammunition, while offering a more compact and concealable profile.

Ruger is definitely not new to the polymer-framed pistol, even beating out other bigs like Smith & Wesson and Remington back in the 1980’s with their P85-95 series. However, for one reason or another (Glock?) Ruger has always seemed to be in the shadows with these pistols. Well, that may be changing in a big way.

Last year’s Ruger American Pistols have become very popular with nice features, excellent accuracy, and an amazingly affordable price. This year’s Security-9 is a perfect hammer-fired companion to the Ruger American Pistols, and the price is set to shatter the market.

Remington Arms has recently announced the new Model 870 DM shotgun. The new 870 DM is remarkably different from previous 870 models, with the DM standing for “Detachable Magazine.” That’s right, Remington is now offering a Model 870 shotgun with an externally detachable box magazine as its primary ammunition feeding source.

The Remington 870 has enjoyed being one of the most iconic shotguns in American history, and continues to enjoy success today even 67 years after it was first released in 1950. With over 5 million Model 870’s sold, it appears Remington will continue to have a winning shotgun. The detachable box magazine may not be necessary for all shooters, but the opportunities it opens should present a very interesting market response.